Overview
- A government order dated August 8 sanctions Rs 264.14 crore to create 65 dedicated Anti‑Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) police stations, a state ANTF headquarters and funds for recurring and one‑time costs.
- The field units are financed for 65 Inspectors, 260 Sub‑Inspectors and 1,300 police personnel with an explicit rule that ANTF staff must not be assigned to other police duties.
- The state ANTF will be headed by an Additional Director General of Police and a 454‑post headquarters will house 10 specialised wings including operations, cyber lab, field intelligence, investigations, crime records, training, IT support and legal.
- Of the 65 units, 37 will cover individual districts and 28 will operate across nine city commissionerates with Chennai receiving 12 units; the sanction also includes 67 four‑wheelers and 325 two‑wheelers for mobility.
- The order pairs law enforcement with demand‑reduction measures led by the Health Department and education and youth programmes, and it directs the ANTF to use intelligence, cyber surveillance and financial probes to trace, seize and freeze assets tied to trafficking.